JP2003012139A - Separation and supply device for headed bar - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a separation and supply device for a headed bar capable of accurately detecting a remaining amount of the headed bar. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a hopper part 3 capable of storing plural headed bars, a separation plate 9 rotatably disposed on a bottom part of the hopper part 3 so as to be inclined in a predetermined angle from a level and having plural through holes 9b arranged in equal intervals at an outer peripheral part so that the headed bar can be fitted in, and an air suction part for sucking air from the through hole 9b of the separation plate 9. A stirring plate 27 is fitted on the separation plate 9 so as to integrally rotate with the separation plate 9. Thus, the headed bar positioned in a boundary part of the hopper part 3 and the separation plate 9 is stirred even when the remaining amount gets less, and the remaining amount can be accurately detected by a photoelectric sensor, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a headed rod separating / supplying device for separating and feeding headed rods such as minute screws which are difficult to feed air using a feeding hose.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when supplying a bar with a head such as a screw to a working device such as an automatic screw tightener, the feeder and the working device are connected by a feeding hose and the feeding hose is used. A method has been adopted in which the screws separated and supplied by the feeder are fed by compressed air. However, for short headed rods with short leg lengths relative to the head diameter and rods with micro heads such as micro screws used in precision equipment such as mobile devices and cameras, flip them inside the feeding hose. In many cases, it is very difficult to feed the air.
A headed bar material separating and feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3 (hereinafter, referred to as
A separate supply device) has been provided.

The separating / feeding device disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-58433 is provided with a hopper capable of storing a large number of headed rods, and a hopper which is rotatably provided in the hopper at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal and has an outer peripheral portion. A separation plate having a plurality of through-holes into which the headed bar can be fitted, and an air suction unit that sucks air from the through-hole of the separation plate to suck the headed bar into the through-hole, And a pulse motor as a rotation drive source for intermittently rotating the separation plate at each pitch of the through holes. In this separation and supply device, the separation plate is intermittently rotated in response to the driving of the pulse motor, whereby the through holes are sequentially rotationally moved to a predetermined take-out position and temporarily stopped. At the take-out position, there is a sensor that detects whether or not the screw is held in the through hole.When this sensor detects that there is a screw in the through hole, the automatic screw tightener will operate. The screw is taken out from the through hole at the take-out position.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional separating / feeding device, the closer the rotating surface of the separating plate is to the horizontal plane, the more the screws stored in the hopper are rotated as the separating plate rotates. It spreads up. For this reason, it is preferable to arrange the separation plate so that the rotation surface is as close to the vertical plane as possible. When this is applied to the separating / supplying device of JP-A-5-58433, if the separation plate is tilted, the inclination of the hopper becomes gentle accordingly. As a result, when the storage amount of the headed bar of the hopper becomes small, as shown in FIG.
The headed bar 101 that hits the separation plate 100 pushes the other headed bar 101, so that the headed bar 101 moves to the opening 103 side of the hopper 102 and diffuses to the inner peripheral surface of the hopper 102. Will end up. Therefore, when the remaining amount of the headed bar 101 in the hopper 102 is detected by the sensor (not shown), the sensor detects the headed bar 101 even though the headed bar 101 is extremely small. Continue to detect,
There was a problem such as not being able to issue a supply order.

[0005]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and a hopper portion capable of storing a large number of headed rods and a bottom portion of the hopper portion inclined at a predetermined angle from the horizontal. A separation plate that is rotatably provided and has a plurality of through-holes on the outer peripheral portion into which headed rods can be fitted, and an air suction unit that sucks air from the through-holes of the separation plate. An apparatus for separating and supplying a headed rod is provided with a stirring member capable of stirring a headed rod located at a boundary portion between a hopper portion and a separation plate.

In the above structure, it is preferable to have a remaining amount detecting means capable of detecting the remaining amount of the headed rod in the hopper portion. In this case, the remaining amount detecting means is provided in the hopper portion. More preferably, it is configured so that it can be moved to an arbitrary position above the headed bar to be stored and positioned, and that the distance for detecting the headed bar can be set arbitrarily. Further, it is preferable that the remaining amount detecting means is configured to be able to withdraw from a stationary position where the headed rod can be detected.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
It will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to 6,
1 is a separating and supplying device for a headed bar (hereinafter, separating and supplying device 1
), And is provided with a hopper portion 3 capable of accumulating a large number of minute screws 2 which is an example of a headed rod material which is difficult to feed air. The hopper portion 3 is composed of a pedestal portion 5 attached to the base 4 and a cylindrical bucket portion 6 attached to the pedestal portion 5 at a predetermined angle. The upper opening end surface of the bucket portion 6 is formed so as to be a horizontal surface 6a, whereby the area of the opening portion is increased so that a screw can be easily inserted and the inside of the bucket portion 6 can be easily viewed.

A bracket 4a is arranged in front of the bucket portion 6, and a sensor mounting plate 22 having a hinge structure and swingable is mounted on the bracket 4a. A lock plate 23 is screwed to a tip portion of the sensor mounting plate 22 with a screw 24, and the slide shafts 26, 26 to which a photoelectric sensor 25, which is an example of a remaining amount detecting unit, is fixed by the lock plate 23. It is designed to sandwich. The photoelectric sensor 25 supported by the slide shafts 26, 26 is configured to be able to detect the amount of the screws 2 stored in the bucket portion 6, and its detection distance, that is, sensitivity can be set arbitrarily. Is configured.

A main shaft 8 rotatably supported by a bearing 7 is inserted through the pedestal 5 of the hopper 3, and one end of the main shaft 8 is located on the upper surface side of the pedestal 5, that is, the hopper. A separating plate 9 arranged at a position corresponding to the bottom of the portion 3 is connected to rotate integrally. A resin-made ring plate 10 fixed to the pedestal portion 5 is interposed between the separation plate 9 and the pedestal portion 5 so that airtightness of air suction, which will be described later, can be enhanced. Also,
A stirring plate 27, which is an example of a stirring member, is attached to the separation plate 9 so as to extend in the diameter direction of the separation plate 9 without blocking the through hole 9b described later. The stirring plate 27 has a shape along the surface of the separation plate 9, and is attached so as to extend to the vicinity of the boundary between the separation plate 9 and the bucket portion 6 with a predetermined gap from the surface of the separation plate 9. There is. The separation plate 9 and the stirring plate 27 are fastened together to the main shaft 8 with a butterfly bolt T, and the separation plate 9 and the stirring plate 27 can be easily removed and replaced.

The separation plate 9 has a disk shape having a chamfered portion 9a on its circumferential portion, and the separation plate extends in a direction perpendicular to the chamfered portion 9a on the circumferential portion. Through hole 9b penetrating 9 and stirring recess 9
c (hereinafter, simply referred to as the recess 9c) is the separation plate 9
Around the rotation center, that is, around the axis of the main shaft 8, are alternately arranged in plural at a predetermined pitch. Each through hole 9
b ... has a diameter such that the leg portion (screw portion) of the screw can be inserted and the head portion cannot enter, and when the separation plate 9 is rotated to move to the highest position, it is oriented vertically. It has become. That is, the angle of the chamfered portion 9a is set as such. In the present separating and supplying apparatus 1, the highest position of the separating plate 9 is set as the screw take-out position.

A suction hole 5a to which a suction hose (not shown) extending from an air suction device (not shown) can be connected to a portion of the pedestal portion 5 corresponding to a lower portion of the separation plate 9.
The ring plate 10 is formed with a communication hole 10a so that the suction hole 5a and the predetermined through hole 9b of the separation plate 9 communicate with each other. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication hole 10a has an arc shape which is line-symmetric with respect to an inclined center line L2 inclined by a predetermined angle θ in the rotation direction of the separation plate 9 indicated by an arrow Y with respect to the vertical center line L1 of the separation plate. It is configured such that air can be sucked from predetermined through holes 9b ... Which communicate with the communication hole 10a. That is, in this separation and supply device 1, the air suction portion described in the claims is formed by the suction hole 5a, the communication hole 10a, the suction hose, the air suction device, and the like.

Further, a suction hose 11 different from the above-mentioned suction hose extending from an air suction device (not shown) is connected to a portion of the pedestal portion 5 corresponding to the screw take-out position (highest position) of the separation plate 9. The suction hole 5b is formed, and the ring plate 10 is formed with a communication hole 10b for communicating the through hole 9b at the take-out position with the suction hole 5b. Further, a vacuum switch 12 is provided on the suction hose 11 connected to the suction hole 5b,
The pressure change in the air suction path from the through hole 9b of the separation plate 9 to the vacuum switch 12 via the communication hole 10b, the suction hole 5b, and the suction hose 11 is detected, and the air insertion state here can be confirmed. Has been done.

On the other hand, a rotation transmission gear 13 and a positioning cam 14 are attached to the other end of the main shaft 8 so as to rotate integrally, and the other end of the main shaft 8 is a bracket attached to the lower part of the base 4. It is rotatably supported by 4b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotation transmission gear 13
Is a gear having a predetermined number of teeth formed on its circumferential portion, and an indexing gear 15 is intermittently meshed with the rotation transmission gear 13. Further, the positioning cam 14 is
It is a sprocket-shaped cam member in which a plurality of arcuate notches 14a having a predetermined radius are continuously provided on the circumferential portion of the disc, and the indexing cam 16 is intermittently engaged with the positioning cam 14. It is configured.

The indexing gear 15 and the indexing cam 16 are fixed to a drive shaft 17 which extends in parallel with the main shaft 8 and is rotatably arranged, and rotates integrally with the rotation of the drive shaft 17. Is configured. The index gear 15 is
A gear having a special shape in which a tooth portion 15a capable of meshing with the teeth of the rotation transmission gear 13 is formed only in a predetermined range of the circumferential portion, and the peripheral portion other than the tooth portion 15a does not interfere with the rotation transmission gear 13. Has been cut (see Fig. 5). The rotation transmitting gear 13 rotates only while the indexing gear 15 is engaged with the tooth portion 15a of the indexing gear 15 while the indexing gear 15 makes one rotation. In response to this, the separation plate 9 has one pitch of the through holes 9b. Missing rotation for a minute. That is, the formation range of the tooth portions 15 a of the indexing gear 15 is designed according to the pitch of the through holes 9 b of the separation plate 9. The mounting position of the index gear 15 is adjusted so that it has a meshing relationship with the rotation transmission gear 13 at the timing when the through hole 9b of the separation plate 9 is stopped at the take-out position for each intermittent rotation.

The indexing cam 16 has an engaging circumferential portion 1 having the same radius as the arcuate notch 14a of the positioning cam 14.
6a is partially provided, and the portion other than the engagement circumferential portion 16a is formed to have a diameter that does not interfere with the positioning cam 14 (see FIG. 5). The indexing cam 16 is separated from the arcuate notch 14a of the positioning cam 14 when the indexing gear 15 starts to mesh with the rotation transmitting gear 13, so that the indexing gear 15 and the rotation transmitting gear 13 are separated from each other. The positional relationship with the indexing gear 15 and the like is adjusted so that the engagement circumferential portion 16a engages along the arcuate notch 14a when the meshing is released.

The drive shaft 17 includes an output shaft 18a of a synchronous motor 18 (hereinafter simply referred to as a motor 18) attached to a bracket 4b and transmission gears 19a and 19b.
And is configured to be rotated by being driven by the motor 18. Further, the drive shaft 17 is attached with a dog 20 provided with one projecting portion 20 a projecting in the circumferential direction of the drive shaft 17.
A sensor 21 is provided on the base 4 so as to detect the protrusion 20a. This sensor 21 and dog 20
The sensor 21 operates when the separation plate 9 has been intermittently rotated by the action of the indexing gear 15 and the rotation transmitting gear 13.
The both mounting positions are adjusted so that the dog detects the protrusion 20a of the dog 20 and turns on.

In the separation and supply device having the above structure,
When the motor 18 is driven, the drive shaft 17 rotates, and the index gear 15, the index cam 16 and the dog 20 rotate integrally. The rotation is intermittently transmitted to the rotation transmission gear 13 with the rotation of the indexing gear 15, whereby the separation plate 9 intermittently rotates in the arrow Y direction with respect to the hopper portion 3. This time,
At the time when the rotation transmission gear 13 and the indexing gear 15 are disengaged (at the time when the separation plate 9, the main shaft 8 and the like stop), the arcuate notch 14a of the positioning cam 14 has an engaging circumferential portion of the indexing cam 16. Since 16a is engaged, the rotation transmission gear 13, the main shaft 8 and the separation plate 9 can be accurately positioned on the spot. That is, when the engagement between the rotation transmission gear 13 and the indexing gear 15 is released, the rotation transmission gear 13,
The main shaft 8 and the separation plate 9 are prevented from becoming free of rotation, and the index transmission gear 13 and the rotation transmission gear 13 are engaged when the rotation transmission gear 13 is displaced, and the intermittent stop position of the separation plate 9 is displaced. Can be prevented. Also, when the power of the device is turned off, in addition to the above-mentioned action, the rotational load due to the reduction ratio specific to the motor acts,
The separation plate will not rotate freely and the intermittent stop position will not be displaced. In this way, the position indexing accuracy in the intermittent rotation of the separation plate 9 is always maintained at high accuracy.

When the suction of the air from the suction hole 5a is started by the operation of the air suction device while the separation plate 9 is rotating intermittently, the screw 2 stored in the hopper 3 is
It is sucked and held in the through hole 9b of the separation plate 9 and transferred to the take-out position. At this time, the screws 2 in the hopper section 3 ...
Since · is agitated by the recess 9c of the separation plate 9, the probability of being sucked and held in the through hole 9b becomes extremely high. Moreover, since the concave portions 9c ... Are formed of curved surfaces, the screws 2 ... Further, since the screw 2 is also regularly stirred by the stirring plate 27, the screw 2 stored in the bucket portion 6 ...
It is possible to even out the collection of and to accurately detect the remaining amount by the sensor. The stirring action of the stirring plate 27 is
Since the stirring plate 27 extends to the vicinity of the boundary between the separation plate 9 and the bucket portion 6, the stirring plate 27 is continued even if the number of screws 2 in the bucket portion 6 decreases. In this way, the screws 2 at the boundary between the separation plate 9 and the bucket portion 6 are continuously stirred, so that the screws 2 are prevented from being piled up along the wall surface of the bucket portion 6, and even if they are piled up, they are destroyed. be able to. Therefore, the remaining amount of the screw can be accurately detected by the photoelectric sensor 25.

With the intermittent rotation of the separation plate 9, the screws 2 in the hopper portion 3 friction with the separation plate 9 and the stirring action of the recesses 9c ... It is distributed in the Y direction). On the other hand, since the communication hole 10a is arranged in a shape symmetrical with respect to the inclined center line L2, that is, in a shape that extends while being offset in the rotation direction of the separation plate 9, the screw 2 in the hopper portion 3 .. can be efficiently sucked and held in the through hole 9b even if .. is biased in the rotation direction of the separation plate 9.

On the other hand, at the take-out position corresponding to the highest position of the separation plate 9, air is sucked from the suction hole 5b, and when the screw is held in the through hole 9b communicating with this, the through hole is formed. 5b to communication hole 10b, suction hole 5
b, the pressure in the path reaching the vacuum switch 12 via the suction hose 11 rises, whereby the vacuum switch 12 is turned on. At the same time, the sensor 21 is turned on when the through hole 9b reaches the take-out position. Therefore, when the sensor 21 is turned on and the vacuum switch 12 is turned on, the through-hole 9b at the take-out position is provided. Assuming that the screw 2 is being held, the motor 18 is temporarily stopped.

After that, when the screw 2 in the through hole 9b at the take-out position is taken out by the action of a screw tightener or the like,
Since the vacuum switch 12 is turned off while the sensor 21 is on, the motor 18 is driven in response to this, and the intermittent rotation of the separation plate 9 is restarted. In this way, it is possible to confirm whether or not the screw 2 is held in the through hole 9b that has sequentially reached the take-out position, and separately supply the screw 2.

In the separating and feeding operation of the screw 2 described above, even when the portion where the through hole 9b is not formed passes over the communicating hole 10b during the intermittent rotation of the separating plate 9, the communicating hole 1
Since the vacuum pressure in the path from 0b to the vacuum switch 12 is increased and the vacuum switch 12 is turned on, this may cause the device to malfunction. However, this separating and feeding device 1
Then, since the signals of the vacuum switch 12 and the sensor 21 for detecting the completion of the intermittent rotation are observed as described above, it is possible to prevent the malfunction due to the ON signal of the vacuum switch 12 when there is no through hole 9b at the take-out position. You can

When the number of screws 2 in the bucket portion 6 decreases as the screws 2 are taken out, the photoelectric sensor 25 detects this. Upon receiving the signal from the photoelectric sensor 25, a buzzer, a warning lamp, etc. are activated to prompt the operator to replenish the screws. When the screw 2 is replenished, the photoelectric sensor 25 can be withdrawn from the bucket portion 6 by swinging the sensor mounting plate 22, so that the sensor mounting plate 22, the photoelectric sensor 25, etc. are not disturbed. The screw 2 can be replenished. Further, the position of the photoelectric sensor 25 can be changed by loosening the screw 24 for fixing the lock plate 23 a little to open the slide shafts 26, 26 and moving them in the axial direction. In this way, by allowing the photoelectric sensor 25 to move in the horizontal direction with respect to the inclined screw guide surface of the bucket portion 6, various timings for urging the bucket portion 6 to supply the screw 2 can be set. It will be possible.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an example of separating and supplying the minute screws 2 has been described. However, the separating and supplying device according to the present invention can be used for various kinds of rivets other than screws, headed pins, nails and the like. The headed rod can be separated and supplied, and the same effect can be obtained even when the headed rods other than these screws are separately supplied.

[0026]

According to the apparatus for separating and supplying a headed rod according to the present invention, the headed rod located near the boundary between the separation plate and the bucket portion can be agitated by a stirring member such as a stirring plate. it can. Therefore, the headed bar can be agitated even when the headed bar in the bucket becomes low, and the headed bar that has become low can be prevented from being piled up along the inner wall of the bucket. It is possible to collect headed bars in the. Therefore, there is an advantage that the remaining amount can be accurately detected by the remaining amount detecting means such as the photoelectric sensor. Further, the remaining amount detecting means is configured to be able to move and position to an arbitrary position on the inclined inner wall of the bucket portion, and to be able to arbitrarily set the detection distance. There is an advantage that the timing of issuing the replenishment command can be widely set. Further, since the remaining amount detecting means is swingably arranged so as to be able to retreat from the inner wall of the bucket portion, there is an advantage that the work of refilling the bucket portion with the headed rod can be smoothly performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of a separation plate when a separation and supply device for a headed rod according to the present invention is viewed from a direction directly facing the separation plate.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a separating and supplying apparatus for a headed rod according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the headed rod separating / supplying device according to the present invention when the separation plate and the stirring plate are removed and viewed from the same direction as FIG. 1.

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a headed rod separating / supplying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a conventional separating / feeding device for a headed rod.

[Explanation of symbols]

Separation and feeding device for rods with 1 head 3 hopper section 5 pedestal 5a suction hole 5b suction hole 6 bucket section 9 Separation plate 9b through hole 9c Stirring pin 10 ring plate 10a communication hole 10b communication hole 11 Suction hose 12 Vacuum switch 13 Rotation transmission gear 14 Positioning cam 15 Indexing gear 16 Index cam 18 Synchronous motor 20 dogs 21 sensor 22 Sensor mounting plate 25 photoelectric sensor 26 slide shaft 27 Stir plate

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A hopper part capable of storing a large number of headed rods, and a hopper part which is rotatably provided at a bottom portion of the hopper part at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal and is capable of fitting the headed rod member to an outer peripheral portion thereof. A separating / supplying device for a headed rod, comprising: a separation plate having a plurality of through holes arranged equally; and an air suction section for sucking air from the through holes of the separation plate, wherein a boundary between the hopper section and the separation plate. An apparatus for separating and supplying a headed rod, comprising a stirring member capable of agitating a headed rod located at a portion thereof. 2. A remaining amount detecting means capable of detecting the remaining amount of the headed rod in the hopper portion.
The apparatus for separating and supplying a bar material with a head according to 1. 3. The remaining amount detecting means is configured to be movable to an arbitrary position above the headed bar stock stored in the hopper and positionable, and to set an arbitrary distance for detecting the headed bar stock. The separation and supply device for a headed rod according to claim 2, wherein 4. The separation of the headed rod according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the remaining amount detecting means is configured to be able to retreat from a steady position where the headed rod can be detected. Supply device.